Embodiments of the disclosure relate generally to composite armor laminates and more particularly, to methods and systems for fabricating composite armor laminates.
At least some known armor systems include a dense ceramic tile enclosed in a supporting structure such as a composite sheet material. The ceramic tile is positioned within the supporting structure to receive ballistic missiles and substantially prevent the missile from passing through the armor system and into an occupied cabin of the vehicle. During impact, one or more tiles may be directly impacted by the missile and other adjacent tiles not directly impacted by the missile may impart forces onto adjacent tiles. A composite spacer positioned between the tiles may limit the amount of damage to the adjacent tiles by absorbing at least a portion of the forces imparted by the tiles that were directly impacted by the missile. During assembly of the armor system, the composite spacer is positioned between tiles manually during layout of the armor system components. This process is time consuming and manual labor intensive.